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REGISTER NOW for IHG’s new May-August bonus points promotion

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UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly summary of the top hotel bonus point offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ menu above.

Click here for our article on IHG’s ‘2000 Bonus Points’ promotion which runs from 1st April to 31st May 2024. You can register for the offer by clicking here.

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IHG Rewards has launched its Summer promotion and you can register now via this link. Use code 51408 if requested.

It could be very lucrative if you have some high value IHG stays coming up over the next few months, although the small print makes things a little fiddly.

You will receive nothing on your first stay, double points on your second stay and triple points on subsequent stays.

How does the new IHG Rewards promotion work?

Here are the rules in a nutshell:

  • the offer is valid for stays from 15th May to 16th August
  • existing bookings count – you don’t need to rebook anything
  • you earn nothing extra on your first stay after registration
  • you receive double base points on your second stay after registration
  • you receive triple base points on your third and subsequent stays

The number of bonus points you can earn is capped at 100,000. If you book multiple rooms at the same hotel, you can credit up to nine to your account in most countries but you only receive the bonus on one room.

Reward nights appear to be excluded. My best guess is that a redemption does not count as your first or second stay in terms of building up to the ‘3x’ level.

How valuable is this offer?

Once you get to your third stay, it is looking pretty good. Let’s assume that an IHG Rewards point is worth 0.4p (which we usually say it is) and that you have Spire Elite status and earn a 100% elite bonus.

  • You spend £100 in a UK hotel …..
  • …. which is £95.23 before VAT
  • …. which is equivalent to $131.58
  • You earn 10 base points per $1 at most brands, x3 as part of this offer, plus a 100% Spire Elite bonus on top
  • You therefore receive 40 points per $1
  • You receive 5,263 points for your stay ($131.58 x 40)
  • At 0.4p, the points are worth £21.05
  • You receive points worth 21% of what you paid
IHG Rewards bonus points offer Summer 2021

The snag, of course, is that you receive no bonus on your first stay and only 2x points on your second stay. This puts you in a frustrating position if you have an expensive IHG stay coming up.

You may even find that you would be better off doing a cheap one-night mattress run before your main stay just to push you into double or triple points. This is not necessarily the sort of behaviour that a promotion should be encouraging at the moment.

How does this compare with other promotions on the market?

Hilton Honors is offering something similar. You receive double base points on one or two night stays and triple points on 3+ night stays until 6th September.

Our article on the Hilton bonus points offer is here and you can register here.

The Hilton offer is better if you are planning an expensive 3+ night stay as your only hotel stay this Summer. Hilton has no ‘valid from your 2nd / 3rd stay’ rule unlike IHG.

Marriott has not yet released details of its Summer promotion. We have not seen anything from Radisson either. Hyatt’s existing offer runs to 15th June – details are here.

Conclusion

IHG’s new Summer promotion may work well for you if you are planning multiple stays over the next four months. It is less useful if you are only planning one or two IHG stays.

That said, it would be silly not to register even if you don’t have any nights booked yet.

You can register now on this page of the IHG website. If you are asked for a promo code, use 51408.

IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:

Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Category

IHG One Rewards

Comments (60)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:
    2 May2 May 16:31

    Good to see them make an effort but meh. Not that interesting for me given company policy on traveling atm

  • Ikaz says:
    2 May2 May 16:48

    It’s a shame that it ends in August, I have a stay at the IC Maldives in September which would have been perfect for the 3rd stay bonus…

  • Craig says:
    2 May2 May 17:05

    Next stay checks out on the 15th, never mind.

  • Aston100 says:
    2 May2 May 17:27

    So I’ve got 2 rooms in the same hotel, for 5 nights. Same dates for both rooms.
    Separate confirmation numbers for the two rooms.
    Cash bookings.

    Are both of these going to be treated as the same non-qualifying first stay?

  • gareth says:
    2 May2 May 17:38

    Good for me and registered fine this morning for this offer. Staying 3/4 nights a week this should be a good earner

  • Aston100 says:
    2 May2 May 17:52

    Do you know what would be good? If IHG decided to let you book a b&b rate on points, or somehow allowed you to add breakfast to a booking for x amount of points.

    It’s all very well throwing lots of points at you, but paying walk-up rates for breakfast at many of their properties is expensive, especially when you compare & consider that the cost of breakfast on some of their cash b&b rates can be under £5 per person (e.g. Indigo quite often allow breakfast for under £10 per room, but charge up to £20pp if adding it on afterwards).

    I appreciate you may have the option to go out of the hotel for breakfast and save money (assuming your hotel isn’t in the middle of nowhere), but there are times I want the convenience of staying in.

    Stupid IHG.

    • The cyclist says:
      2 May2 May 18:20

      Good points there Aston, I find that bringing my own plate to the buffet breakfast works a treat. It extra large so I can pile on the food and get my moneys worth, in addition I always have at least three coffees, so if the establishment is charging an extortionate amount I feel that I am up on the deal.

    • Rob says:
      2 May2 May 19:07

      IHG used to let you redeem points for breakfast about a decade ago.

      A bigger issue is not being able to redeem, or pay cash, to get bigger rooms. Marriott and Hyatt are way ahead of Hilton and IHG here, but at least Hilton is OK with upgrades if you are top tier.

      My wife and I have quite chunky IHG balances. There was no plan here – every stay we do we compare cash vs points – but for some reason we usually tend to end up with cash. (Dubai over New Year was an exception due to mad cash pricing.) Factoring in paying for breakfast tends to make points rooms uncompetitive much of the time. We also tend to want more space – even if we agree to take 2 rooms, I want a bit of space inc a very big bed if I’m sharing with my son or daughter!

      • Harry T says:
        2 May2 May 19:22

        The other issue is that IHG status is very weak and you can’t rely on an upgrade from the basic points room to a proper junior suite/suite, like you can with Marriott or Hyatt.

        • Tiff says:
          2 May2 May 20:25

          If you’re in IHG for status recognition and benefits, then you’re in the wrong programme. It’s never claimed to be about that, and there’s no sign that they intend to change. It’s all about earning points easily.

      • Harrier25 says:
        2 May2 May 19:54

        I always end up with chunky IHG balances mainly because I opt to book more Hilton’s due to the free breakfast offering.

      • Aston100 says:
        2 May2 May 21:49

        “Factoring in paying for breakfast tends to make points rooms uncompetitive much of the time.”
        This really annoys me.
        I make a rewards night booking, and then quite often the cash price drops significantly and usually brings with it rates that include breakfast for not much more than the points price for room only.
        I more often than not end up cancelling my rewards nights and rebooking on a cash rate.

        • Anna says:
          3 May3 May 07:20

          Aston100 – I’ve mentioned this a couple of times but I usually ask if the hotel will allow us to book breakfast at the online rate at the time of booking and never been refused on an award or Ambassador stay, (That said, the Kimpton appeared to have “forgotten” this this weekend but agreed to rectify it when I produced the confirmation email so always hang on to the evidence!)

    • Wally1976 says:
      3 May3 May 08:06

      This is why, as a family, the only IHGs we use are Holiday Inn Express!

      • Colin JE says:
        3 May3 May 09:30

        Don’t forget Staybridge. Free breakfast there too! Or you make your own in your suite.

        • Doug M says:
          3 May3 May 10:26

          Aren’t Staybridge the ones where breakfast is a series of carb/sugar wrapped blobs you microwave?

  • Harrier25 says:
    2 May2 May 18:54

    I fully agree with Aston100 and think that your missing the point here, The cyclist. I bet you look a right wally turning up for breakfast with your oversized plate, especially when in normal times you can have as many helping’s as you wish on one of the smaller hotel plate!

    • The cyclist says:
      2 May2 May 19:46

      On the contrary, I think your missing the point. I was talking to my mate Michael last week, who agreed that its a good strategy, When staying at Hiltons as I diamond almost invariably raid the mini bar for directors bitter and gorge on those toberlones you sometimes find.

      • Phil H says:
        2 May2 May 23:21

        Loving the Alan Partridge references!

        • The cyclist says:
          3 May3 May 16:07

          One does ones best, if only to hook “right wallys” see above:)

  • TB says:
    2 May2 May 19:33

    As spire elite – If you receive triple base points on third stay onwards, do you still get 100% on top still?

    For example, 2000 points for a nights stay + 100% bonus as spire elite X 3?

    • Rob says:
      2 May2 May 19:49

      No, it’s 2000 x 3 + 2000, so 8000.

      • Aston100 says:
        2 May2 May 21:46

        Rob I feel in the past the x3 bonus would replace the elite status bonus.
        Are you certain this is x3 + your normal elite status bonus?

        • TGLoyalty says:
          2 May2 May 22:59

          It’s because people thought they were getting the base points plus x2 or x3 on top then complaining they didn’t get the spire bonus.

          When a x3 promo is just 3x the usual base points ie 10 per $1 x3 = 30 per $1

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